ORGANISERS of the upcoming Scottish Plant Operator Challenge (SPOC) and MDiG have announced plans to bring RodRadar’s Live Dig Radar (LDR) technology to Errol Airfield, where the event will take place on July 27.
The LDR tech was launched in the UK at Hillhead last month, where it was only available to view. Now, visitors to SPOC24 will be able to try it out for themselves.
The LDR Excavate system uses a ground penetrating radar integrated into the excavator’s digging bucket, connected to a display unit inside the cabin. This provides automated real time alerts of any type of utilities while digging.
The radar means operators can detect and avoid utilities as they dig. LDR Excavate works on all utility types and in all types of ground.
Grant Healey, MDiG account manager, who will be on hand at SPOC24 to answer any questions, said, “Hot on the heels of bringing this technology to the UK market last month at Hillhead, we are excited to give operators and visitors the opportunity to try RodRadar for themselves in the demo plot at the Scottish Plant Operator Challenge. Already established in the US, we can see this technology quickly becoming integrated as standard practice into the UK construction and utility industry. The potential to reduce the costs and danger around utility strikes is significant.”
In the UK there are around four million kilometres of pipes, electricity and telecoms cables, and sewers. On average there are 12 deaths and 600 serious injuries attributed to contact with the electricity network per year.
There are 65,000 strikes annually on buried service pipes and cables, with the average direct cost per strike estimated at £3,371 and the overall cost to UK construction estimated to total £6 billion per year.
An LDR bucket with integrated Live Dig Radar technology can be installed on any excavator, current or new, using industry standard interfaces of buckets and attachment systems.
Callum Mackintosh, promoter of the Scottish Plant Operator Challenge, added, “We are delighted that MDiG is bringing RodRadar to the event. This technology is the most exciting attachment development in recent years, and I know there will be plenty of attendees keen to try it out for themselves.”
